President Dr. Arif Alvi held a telephonic conversation with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, His Excellency Ilham Aliyev, today to discuss matters related to the Covid-19 Pandemic, and enhancing bilateral cooperation to jointly address the situation.
President congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on his timely initiative and successful convening of the Non-Aligned Movement’s Summit-level Contact Group meeting on the theme “United against COVID-19” on 4 May 2020. In this regard, President briefed President Aliyev about the latest situation of COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan and the steps being taken by the Government for containment of the disease. President thanked for Azerbaijan’s support for Pakistan’s efforts in preventing and combating COVID-19 outbreak. He also thanked Azerbaijan for facilitating repatriation of stranded Pakistanis.
While underscoring importance of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call for Global Initiative for Debt Relief for developing countries, President Alvi reiterated the need for close cooperation to mitigate the impact of the economic slowdown and devote more resources to manage the crisis.
The President appreciated Azerbaijan’s support for the Initiative. Emphasizing the close fraternal ties between Pakistan and Azerbaijan, the President reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields.
President Alvi expressed deep concerns over spread of COVID-19 in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ &K) due to continued restrictions on movement and lack of unfettered access to medical and other supplies. President Alvi said that Covid-19 was being used as another excuse to discriminate against Muslim across India. He highlighted that India was trying to change the domicile rules in IOJ&K. He added that the basic purpose of this strategy was to alter demographic structure in IOJ&K which is against the 4th Geneva Convention. Noting the motivated campaign to demonize Indian Muslims in the context of the Covid-19, the President emphasized that it should be rejected by the international community.
The President of Azerbaijan expressed his deep concern over the human rights violations in India held Kashmir and said his country strongly supported Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir. He further stated that Azerbaijan considered Pakistan its close friend and would continue to support it at every forum. President Ilham Aliyev thanked the Government of Pakistan for supporting his country’s stance on Nagorno-Karabakh.
The two Presidents agreed to remain engaged on all issues of mutual interest.
*-*-*-*
